Restless Earth - [CASE STUDY] Soufriere Hills Volcano (Montserrat) Flashcards
When did the volcano erupt?
April 1995 and again in June 1997.
Why did it surprise so many people?
Because it had been dormant for many years. Also, they didn’t expect it to happen so quickly afterwards, there had just been an eruption!
At first, the residents thought it was ______.
A plane crash.
The volcano erupted in a __________ _______ at ____km/h.
Pyroclastic flow that travelled at 120km/h.
The residents were faced with a tough decision - should they stay or should they go?
Early after the first eruption, ______ people had left the country.
2000 people had left the country.
What effects did the eruption have on residents?
Any of the following:
- [Primary] [Social] - Deaths.
- [Primary] [Environmental] - Viscous lava.
- [Primary] [Environmental] - Pyroclastic flow, 120km/h speeds.
- [Secondary] [Social] - Loss of population.
- [Secondary] [Social] - Evacuations.
- [Long term] [Social] - Houses destroyed, whole towns destroyed.
- [Long term] [Social] - Attempts were made to rebuild the island.
- [Long term] [Social] - Many moved up North.
- [Long term] [Social] - People had to rebuild their lives.
- [Long term] [Social] [Economic] - Many people resorted to making their own farms just to make a living.
- [Long term] [Economic] - Economic effects.
- [Political] - Montserrat is a British colony.
- [Long term] [Political] - Exclusion zone.
The second eruption was much more violent, how many people did it kill and cause to leave?
19 people died as a result of the second eruption, 9,000 left.
The second eruption introduced a new exclusion map - how much of the country was covered by this?
1/3 of the country was declared by an exclusion zone by 2000.
What did this result in?
Montserrat having the record for the longest chain of volcanic eruptions.
Researchers from all around the world brought analysis equipment to attempt to understand these eruptions.
